nguentum olei
cadini_.

In Italy stables are popularly thought to be protected by a sprig of
Juniper from demons and thunderbolts, just as we suppose the
magic horseshoe to be protective to our houses and offices.

[296] KNAPWEED (The Lesser).

Black Knapweed, the _Centaurea nigra_, is a common tough-stemmed
composite weed growing in our meadows and cornfields, being
well known by its heads of dull purple flowers, with brown,
or almost black scales of the outer floral encasement. It is popularly
called Hard heads, Loggerheads, Iron heads, Horse knob, and Bull
weed.

Dr. Withering relates that a decoction made from these hard heads
has afforded at least a temporary relief in cases of diabetes mellitus,
"by diminishing the quantity of urine, and dispelling the sweetness."

Its chief chemical constituent _enicin_, is identical with that of the
Blessed thistle, and the Blue bottle, and closely resembles that of the
Dandelion. It has been found useful in strengthless indigestion,
especially when this is complicated with sluggish torpor of the liver.
From half to one ounce of the herb may be boiled in eight fluid
ounces of water, and a small wineglassful be taken for a dose twice
or three times a day. In Bucks young women make use of this
Knapweed for love divination:--

"They pull the little blossom threads
From out the Knotweed's button beads,
And put the husk with many a smile
In their white bosoms for a while;
Then, if they guess aright, the swain
Their love's sweet fancies try to gain,
'Tis said that ere it lies an hour
'Twill blossom with a second flower."

LAVENDER.

The Lavender of our gardens, called also Lavender Spike, is a
well-known sweet-smelling shrub, of the Labiate order. It grows wild
in Spain, Piedmont, and [297] the south of France, on waysides,
mountains, and in barren places. The plant was propagated by slips,
or cuttings, and has been cultivated in England since about 1568.
It is produced largely for commercial purposes in Surrey,
Hertfordshire, and Lincoln. The shrub is set in long rows occupying
fields, and yields a profitable fragrant essential oil from the
flowering tops, about one ounce of the oil from sixty terminal
flowering spikes. From these tops also the popular cosmetic
lavender water is distilled. They contain tannin, and a resinous
camphire, which is common to most of the mints affording essential
oils. If a hank of cotton is steeped in